Glory at Sea
As fighting between the British and Americans continued, other battles raged at sea. Great Britain's powerful navy kept the ships of the Patriots and their allies from entering or leaving American harbors. This blockade prevented supplies and reinforcements from reaching the Continental Army.
To break the blockade, the Second Continental Congress ordered the construction of 13 American warships. Only two of these ships, however, sailed to sea. Several were quickly captured by the British. The "American Navy" was too weak to operate effectively. Congress had no other choice to authorize approximately 2,000 ships to sail as privateers. These were privately owned merchant ships with weapons. Finding crews for these ships was not difficult. Privateering was a profitable trade. Depending on the type of ship, when Privateers captured a British ship they would be rewarded with money and goods worth anywhere from value of half the ship to the entire ship. Men, like Benedict Arnold, who wanted to serve the Patriot cause and become wealthy in the process, often petitioned Congress for assignments in the navy because of the prize money.
One of America's first naval heroes, was John Paul Jones. Jones was a daring naval officer who raided British ports. Near the coast of Great Britain in September 1779, Jones's ship, Bonhomme Richard, met the British warship, Serapis escorting a fleet of merchant ships. The Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis fought for hours. During the famous encounter, the British captain asked whether Jones wished to surrender. Jones is said to have answered,
"I have not yet begun to fight".
In the end, the Serapis surrendered, but the Bonhomme Richard sank not long after the battle. Still, his victory made John Paul Jones a naval hero to the American Patriots.
As fighting between the British and Americans continued, other battles raged at sea. Great Britain's powerful navy kept the ships of the Patriots and their allies from entering or leaving American harbors. This blockade prevented supplies and reinforcements from reaching the Continental Army.
To break the blockade, the Second Continental Congress ordered the construction of 13 American warships. Only two of these ships, however, sailed to sea. Several were quickly captured by the British. The "American Navy" was too weak to operate effectively. Congress had no other choice to authorize approximately 2,000 ships to sail as privateers. These were privately owned merchant ships with weapons. Finding crews for these ships was not difficult. Privateering was a profitable trade. Depending on the type of ship, when Privateers captured a British ship they would be rewarded with money and goods worth anywhere from value of half the ship to the entire ship. Men, like Benedict Arnold, who wanted to serve the Patriot cause and become wealthy in the process, often petitioned Congress for assignments in the navy because of the prize money.
One of America's first naval heroes, was John Paul Jones. Jones was a daring naval officer who raided British ports. Near the coast of Great Britain in September 1779, Jones's ship, Bonhomme Richard, met the British warship, Serapis escorting a fleet of merchant ships. The Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis fought for hours. During the famous encounter, the British captain asked whether Jones wished to surrender. Jones is said to have answered,
"I have not yet begun to fight".
In the end, the Serapis surrendered, but the Bonhomme Richard sank not long after the battle. Still, his victory made John Paul Jones a naval hero to the American Patriots.
Feel free to check out the 3D tour of the Gunboat Philadelphia from the Smithsonian. The Gunboat Philadelphia is the only surviving naval vessel from the Revolutionary War in America. It was built in 1776, by Benedict Arnold and was integral in the Battle of Valcour Island during the same year.
At the beginning of the American Revolution, the British had been determined to split New England from the middle and southern colonies. In order to have any hope of defending Lake Champlain from the British, the Americans had to expand their tiny navy. The gondolas, or flat-bottomed rowing boat with sails, were designed and constructed as simple gun platforms. Armed with three cannon and eight swivel guns, Philadelphia was one of them. Though a defeat for the Americans, the naval contest for Lake Champlain is considered the foundation for the defeat of British Commander John Burgoyne’s army at Saratoga the following year. The battle delayed the British campaign and led to the postponement of further advances. Arnold thus gave the American army time to build the strength necessary for the victory at Saratoga. Philadelphia and the other vessels in Arnold’s fleet had served their purpose. The Philadelphia rested on the bottom of the lake until it was discovered and recovered with much of its equipment intact in 1935 by Lorenzo F. Haggulund, a civil engineer who for many years exhibited it as a tourist attraction. It came to the museum in 1964, complete with the 24-pound ball that sent the gunboat to the bottom. |
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